Indigenous activist Robbie Thorpe leads Camp Sovereignty at Kings Domain
Senator Lidia Thorpe has joined a group of Indigenous activists who say they will remain “forever” at a camp at Kings Domain until the site is returned to the Aboriginal community.
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Prominent Aboriginal activist Robbie Thorpe has set up camp at Kings Domain, and intends to remain “forever” — or until the area is returned to the Indigenous community.
The group of protesters led by Mr Thorpe — the uncle of Independent senator Lidia Thorpe — is calling for the land to be given back to the people of the Kulin nation, and become a place for education and healing.
Known as the Kings Domain Resting Place, the site is a burial ground for the remains of 38 Aboriginal people repatriated by the Museum of Victoria in 1985.
The Gunaikurnai man organised a 60-day sit in at the location 18 years ago, but this time plans to remain “forever”.
“They're exactly the same issues back then as there are now,” Mr Thorpe said.
“Nothing’s changed.
“We’re making people aware of the issues as peacefully as we can.
“We want a stone house built here, a cultural interpretation centre.
“(People) can take part in a ceremony or learn what these places are about.
The group is also demanding the area be renamed, removing any reference to the King or the “Windsor crime family”.
“We want to call it Camp Sovereignty, or its proper name, Yalukit Willam,” Mr Thorpe said.
Senator Lidia Thorpe joined the congregation on Wednesday afternoon to broadcast live with Mr Thorpe on community radio station 3CR.
Ms Thorpe told the Herald Sun the sit-in, which had ballooned in size, had her full support.
“This is about sovereignty, and the whole notion of sovereignty in this country has never been resolved,” she said.
“That’s why I’m here, I’m wanting to show my support in every way that I can, but also be part of the healing and the ceremony that people come here to be a part of.
“It’s a peaceful sit-in on Country, where we share stories, and we practice our sovereign rights on our own land.
“The movement has been going for almost 250 years … This is the 2024 version, and a statement to say: we’re not going anywhere.”
Chairs and cushions encircled a ceremonial “ceasefire peace fire” that has been burning since January 26, after the activists made their way to the site at the conclusion of the “Invasion Day” march.
The group is sleeping on mats and in sleeping bags, there are tables for communal food preparation, and piles of firewood to keep the fire burning.
“We’re about peace, healing, teaching, education and cultural awareness,” Mr Thorpe said.
“We’re the proper custodians... The land needs us and we need our land.
“If we don’t win here, we got nothing to go to.
“Where do you go for a dose of Aboriginal culture close to the CBD?”
He said the group wanted to work with the City of Melbourne, and had complied with orders to remove tents and marquees from the space.
A meeting took place on Wednesday morning between the protest organisers and council members.
The Aboriginal elder said similar fires were burning in Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra, and if he was moved along, he would set up somewhere else.
“We’re not going away,” he said.
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